Audi describes the RS 6 Avant as having "discreet road presence with exceptional performance". While this sort of marketing blurb is not normally to be trusted there's no question that it's entirely justifiable here.
On paper, the RS 6 is a formidable beast. Its 4.0-litre V8 engine produces a maximum of 552bhp and drives all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic gearbox. As a result, the car fairly leaps away from a standing start, reaching 62mph from a standstill in just 3.9 seconds.
The official top speed is electronically limited to 155mph. It would certainly be a lot higher if Audi permitted it to be. Stirring stuff, I think you'll agree. The fact that a car is fast does not, however, mean that it is necessarily good. The way it handles its power is the important thing.
The engine, which roars magnificently at high revs and on full throttle, emits the most subtle of burbles when you're meandering around the place at low speed. The general behaviour of the car matches the sound effects.
There's very little sign that only a stomp on the throttle pedal stands between a gentle potter and an almighty leap into the next postcode. Other than a slightly (but definitely not excessively) firm ride, you might be driving an uncommonly luxurious large estate car.
The fact that it's a great deal more than that becomes evident as soon as you start pushing on. To expand on that point, the handling limit of the RS 6 is so extraordinarily high that you're never going to come anywhere near it in normal life unless you do something cataclysmically stupid. It feels strange to suggest that a 552bhp car is safer in this respect than cars with far less power and even more dramatically less grip, but that's the obvious conclusion.
The RS 6 Avant costs £78,790, which is clearly a lot of money in absolute terms, but perhaps not for something with so much power and so much ability to deal with it. For that sum you also get 565 litres of luggage space (or 1,680 litres if you fold down the rear seats) and a powered tailgate. You also get various pieces of equipment you'd hope to have for the price, such as leather upholstery, satellite navigation, DAB digital radio, four-zone automatic air-conditioning, cruise control and hill hold assist.
As an option, you can also abandon the air suspension in favour of conventional steel springs, but after my experience driving this car I don't think I'd bother.
